A huge fire broke out on a cross-Channel ferry carrying more than 300 passengers as it was arriving in France this morning.

Some 337 passengers and 119 crew were on the Pride of Canterbury P&O vessel, which had sailed from Dover in Kent, when the blaze broke out in the engine room at about 9am local time (8am BST).

Passenger Ed Sproston, of Folkestone, Kent, was on the ferry - which had left Dover at 6.30am - and took photographs of the thick toxic fumes, which he said left him struggling for breath.

Scroll down for video

Blaze: Father-of-two Ed Sproston, of Folkestone, Kent, was on the ferry - which had left Dover at 6.30am - and took a photograph (above) of the thick toxic fumes, which he said left him struggling for breath

Smoking: Mr Sproston said the fire was blazing for 'a good 20 minutes' before it was extinguished

The 39-year-old father-of-two said: ‘I
was sitting upstairs talking to my kids on the phone when the captain
came on the tannoy and said they had a “slight problem with the
starboard engine”.

‘He said
we were going to have a tug boat pull us into the port but then I just
saw plumes of smoke coming out of the engine room. The alarm started
going off.